Feeding your feelings

Food can do more than just fill our stomachs; it can also fill our feelings.

But that can sometimes take an unhealthy turn.

When people are sad or stressed, they can do what’s called emotional eating, which is consuming food for other reasons than hunger.

According to a local dietitian, folks tend to turn to salty, sweet and mostly unhealthy foods when they emotionally eat.

HyVee Dietitian, Megan Conlon says there are alternatives that can feed those feelings without the risk of packing on the pounds.

“When people are wanting to emotionally eat, sometimes it’s nice to have a food that keeps your hands busy. So if you’re a salty person, maybe going for popcorn or even whole grain crackers. And if you’re a sweet person, then maybe steer towards your grapes,” says Conlon.

She also says that when people are mindlessly eating they tend to not think about portion size which can cause people to over eat.